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Spartans rout Colonels in high fashion

November 29, 2004
Junior guard Maurice Ager shoots over Nicholls State guard Shawn King Saturday at Breslin Center. Ager led all scoring with 19 in MSU's 102-52 routing of the Colonels. —

For head coach Tom Izzo, Saturday's game against Nicholls State was a win, but the game did not go the way he would have liked.

The No. 10 MSU men's basketball team won 102-52 at Breslin Center.

"I was disappointed by the lack of effort on the defensive end," Izzo said. "On the break, we missed some good plays. I did not like the way that the team played, to tell you the truth."

The Spartans (3-0) lost focus, Izzo said, and were sloppy at times, finishing the game with 16 turnovers. The sloppiness and lack of focus caused some frustration among the players, especially the seniors, Izzo said.

Senior guard Chris Hill said the seniors talked about what happened on the court Saturday and that the Spartans' performance was not good enough.

"We didn't play very well and didn't feel like we did a lot of the things that we worked on (in practice)," Hill said. "So, that is something we're disappointed with and take responsibility for."

Despite not being happy with their performance, the Spartans did come away with the win. For Izzo, it was the 300th game he coached, his 210th win of his career.

It was also the third straight game where MSU eclipsed the 100-point mark, which MSU got on a three-pointer from freshman guard Drew Neitzel.

"We did score a hundred points, but the way we played at times, when we're playing ranked teams and on the road, we may not get some of those shots and a couple of those rebounds," junior center Paul Davis said. "We just need to play as well as we can against the non-ranked teams. We definitely had some letdowns on the defensive end."

Against the Colonels (0-3), MSU played well at times and shot 50 percent or better for the third time. At least five players scored in double figures.

Senior forward Alan Anderson and sophomore guard Shannon Brown had 15 points each, junior guard Maurice Ager led the way with 19 points, senior guard Kelvin Torbert had 16 points and Davis had 11 points.

As in the last two games, Torbert came off the bench and scored at least 15 points, providing a spark for MSU. However, he did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 12 of his 16 in that period.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it, to use very bad English," Izzo said about continuing to bring Torbert off the bench. "I am going to talk to him about it today. But he has been playing so well."

MSU is rebounding the ball better, outrebounding the Colonels, 52-29. However, the visitors from Louisiana did not play anyone bigger than 6-foot-6. Izzo said he is glad games against smaller teams have come to an end.

"Well, I guess that teams go through this all over the country, where they play this nice kind of schedule," Izzo said. "Games go like this one did and that is why I am not a big advocate of a schedule this easy.

"It has given us a false sense of security that, thank God, will end on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday."

MSU will next face off against No. 9 Duke at 9 p.m. Tuesday in Durham, N.C. on ESPN, as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.


6 shooting starters

FG-FGA Pct. Points
Maurice Ager 7-11 63.6 19
Alan Anderson 6-10 60.0 15
Shannon Brown 5-9 55.5 15
Paul Davis 5-9 55.5 11
Chris Hill 2-5 40.0 6
Kelvin Torbert 5-11 45.4 16
Source: MSU Sports Information

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